There are several Ebola drugs in development and they're starting to reach struggling victims, especially Western aid workers, who agree to participate in ad hoc trials.

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There are several Ebola drugs in development and they're starting to reach struggling victims, especially Western aid workers, who agree to participate in ad hoc trials.

NBC's Maggie Fox has an interesting piece about this, which starts with the story of one charity doctor requesting that a promising experimental "serum" (details on what exactly the drug was aren't available), of which there was only enough for one person, be given to his ailing colleague. The doctor, himself, opted to try another experimental treatment — an infusion of blood from an Ebola survivor.

Companies may provide experimental drugs for use on a compassionate basis in cases of dire need. In this case, U.S. regulators may not need to become involved because the patients are not in the United States.

Some of the drugs are based on antibodies that are produced naturally by the body during infection. In some infections, antibodies from a survivor can help a patient fight infection. But Thomas Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch, who is working to develop both drugs and vaccines for Ebola, said that is not a tried-and-true approach.

"It is a very controversial topic if you are talking about the serum from a survivor," Geisbert said. His team tried it in monkeys and it did not help them.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/experimental-drugs-tested-in-a.html/feed0Most social science results have never been replicatedhttp://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/most-social-science-results-ha.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/most-social-science-results-ha.html#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 21:43:13 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=322153Replication — where researchers re-do experiments to see if they get the same result — is a really important part of the scientific process.]]>Replication — where researchers re-do experiments to see if they get the same result — is a really important part of the scientific process. And it's hardly ever done in social science.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/most-social-science-results-ha.html/feed0Mysterious holes in Siberia may be craters of climate change explosionshttp://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/mysterious-holes-in-siberia-ma.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/mysterious-holes-in-siberia-ma.html#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 21:37:45 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=322091

Holes like this one have been appearing in Siberia — at least three are known so far. There are a couple of theories for what's causing them and both are linked to climate change.

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Holes like this one have been appearing in Siberia — at least three are known so far. There are a couple of theories for what's causing them and both are linked to climate change.

First, there's the idea that the holes are created when mounds of ice, covered with earth, melt. Called pingos, the loss of the ice would leave behind a big hole that collapses in on itself. Given the rising temperatures and melting of permafrost in Siberia, it wouldn't be surprising to find that pingos are melting. But, other scientists argue, these holes don't really fit the look of a pingo collapse.

But [geophysicist Vladimir] Romanovsky said the hole doesn't look like a typical collapsed pingo; such features usually form from larger mounds that slowly cave in over a period of decades, with all the material falling inside.

From the photo of the Yamal crater, "it's obvious that some material was ejected from the hole," Romanovsky said. His Russian colleagues who visited the site told him the dirt was piled more than 3 feet (1 m) high around the hole's edges.

That's leading some scientists to speculate that the holes could be forming when methane from melted permafrost builds up in a space left by a melting pingo — eventually leading to an explosion.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/mysterious-holes-in-siberia-ma.html/feed0Where does the word "scientist" come from?http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/where-does-the-word-scientis.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/where-does-the-word-scientis.html#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 18:24:13 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=322084This account of the 19th-century debate over whether or not the word "scientist" is accurate and pleasing to hear is a great reminder that some of the best history stories are the ones you don't even think to ask about.]]>This account of the 19th-century debate over whether or not the word "scientist" is accurate and pleasing to hear is a great reminder that some of the best history stories are the ones you don't even think to ask about.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/where-does-the-word-scientis.html/feed0Fantastic cookbook of extremely inexpensive mealshttp://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/fantastic-cookbook-of-extremel.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/fantastic-cookbook-of-extremel.html#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 18:06:19 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=322071

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/fantastic-cookbook-of-extremel.html/feed0When Buddhists call for genocidehttp://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/when-buddhists-call-for-genoci.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/when-buddhists-call-for-genoci.html#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 17:47:43 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=322060There's a fascinating story in the American Buddhist magazine Shambala Sun about the Burmese Buddhists who are killing and harassing their Muslim neighbors.]]>There's a fascinating story in the American Buddhist magazine Shambala Sun about the Burmese Buddhists who are killing and harassing their Muslim neighbors. Thoughtful and full of context, it is very much worth a read.

Jack Kornfield, a Buddhist teacher from the US, wrote the piece after traveling through Burma and seeing some of the violence firsthand. He does a good job of explaining the background that has lead up to the genocide in a nuanced way that helps explain how a religion of peace turns violent without taking the emphasis off the victims of that violence.

The biggest source of conflict is the unsettled situation of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s westernmost state. Rakhine is a beautiful land bordering Bangladesh that was for centuries a great seafaring kingdom. But ever since the central Burmese kings conquered Rakhine, the people there have been treated badly. And over the last century, a million Rohingya Muslims, seeking new opportunity or fleeing poverty and mistreatment in present-day Bangladesh, have settled in Rakhine. Today, overpopulated Bangladesh doesn’t want them back and the Rakhine natives, already poor and mistreated by the central government, fear they are losing land and livelihood to the Muslims immigrants, even though many Rohingyas have lived there peacefully for decades.

The current economic pressure has made the situation ripe for fear, violence, and political exploitation. Muslim homes and businesses have been torched and 100,000 Rohingya Muslims, many of them women and children, have been forced into impoverished refugee camps. When I spoke to Rohingyas from Rakhine, their eyes got wide with dismay, and there was a palpable helplessness and fear of attacks by the Buddhist majority. Recently, the drumbeat of violence against Muslims and other minorities has spread to other parts of Burma, often with the tacit approval of the local police and military.

I witnessed firsthand the results of the spreading violence in the town of Lashio in northern Shan state, where this past year a mosque, businesses, and a Muslim orphanage were burned not far from the town’s most revered pagoda. While the local Buddhists I spoke to were friendly, they were also worried, and from their ranks came mobs who torched their Muslim neighbors.

Of the nearly half a million monks and nuns in Burma, those espousing hatred and supporting violence are a handful, less than one percent. But their message of fear and prejudice resonates because of several factors.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/08/01/when-buddhists-call-for-genoci.html/feed0Scientists track the origins of a ship buried under the World Trade Centerhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/scientists-track-the-origins-o.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/scientists-track-the-origins-o.html#commentsThu, 31 Jul 2014 17:38:42 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321851

In 2010, construction crews found the hull of a very old ship, buried at the site of the World Trade Center towers.

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In 2010, construction crews found the hull of a very old ship, buried at the site of the World Trade Center towers. Using dendrochronology, scientists now know how old the ship is and what city it was made in.

"What makes the tree-ring patterns in a certain region look very similar, in general, is climate," said the leader of the new study, Dario Martin-Benito, who is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Regional ring patterns arise from local rain levels and temperatures, with wetter periods producing thicker rings and drier periods producing smaller rings, he said.

...The ship's signature pattern most closely matched with the rings found in old living trees and historic wood samples from the Philadelphia area, including a sample taken during an earlier study from Independence Hall, which was built between 1732 and 1756.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/scientists-track-the-origins-o.html/feed0Paleontology on the Moonhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/paleontology-on-the-moon.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/paleontology-on-the-moon.html#commentsThu, 31 Jul 2014 13:42:17 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321771An experiment on Earth suggests that it might be possible to find microscopic fossils on the Moon.]]>An experiment on Earth suggests that it might be possible to find microscopic fossils on the Moon.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/paleontology-on-the-moon.html/feed0How Ebola workshttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/how-ebola-works.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/how-ebola-works.html#commentsThu, 31 Jul 2014 13:35:06 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321767

One of the reasons that Ebola is so deadly is that it has multiple ways of interfering with or avoiding the human immune system. While the virus is busy destroying the human body, the immune system is either still in the process of discovering that there is a problem, or is in such disarray that it would be next to impossible to mobilize a unified effort to fight off the invader.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/humans-are-eating-a-scaly-ante.html/feed0Read Dune with public radio's Science Fridayhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/read-dune-with-nprs.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/read-dune-with-nprs.html#commentsThu, 31 Jul 2014 12:57:10 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321762If you liked learning about the science of Tatooine, you'll enjoy reading Dune with the Science Friday bookclub.]]>If you liked learning about the science of Tatooine, you'll enjoy reading Dune with the Science Friday bookclub. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/31/read-dune-with-nprs.html/feed0Watch a cocoa farmer try chocolate for the first timehttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/watch-a-cocoa-farmer-try-choco.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/watch-a-cocoa-farmer-try-choco.html#commentsWed, 30 Jul 2014 14:58:36 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321565N'Da Alphonse grows cocoa in Ivory Coast. He harvests the pods, removes the pulp-covered beans, and dries them before selling them to brokers.]]>

N'Da Alphonse grows cocoa in Ivory Coast. He harvests the pods, removes the pulp-covered beans, and dries them before selling them to brokers. He'd never seen or tasted the food made from his beans, until a Dutch TV show brought him a sample, as part of a story on class divisions and the global food trade.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/watch-a-cocoa-farmer-try-choco.html/feed0Medical experimentation and vulnerable peoplehttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/medical-experimentation-and-vu.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/medical-experimentation-and-vu.html#commentsWed, 30 Jul 2014 14:39:01 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321561Fourty-two years after the exposure of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a group of educators, activists, and writers discuss the history and the present of medical experimentation and medical ethics.]]>Fourty-two years after the exposure of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, a group of educators, activists, and writers discuss the history and the present of medical experimentation and medical ethics.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/medical-experimentation-and-vu.html/feed0Why do some women get pregnant even though they're on the Pill?http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/why-do-some-women-get-pregnant.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/why-do-some-women-get-pregnant.html#commentsWed, 30 Jul 2014 14:27:51 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321550

The answer is more complicated than simply missing a dose, or failing to take your birth control at just the right time each day.

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The answer is more complicated than simply missing a dose, or failing to take your birth control at just the right time each day. Scientists are just beginning to understand how individual differences in body chemistry can affect how well the Pill works.

“We know that some people are fast metabolizers and some people are slow metabolizers,” says Alison Edelman, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. A fast metabolizer might pass a drug through her liver too quickly; in the case of the pill, this could lower the hormone level below the critical threshold.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/why-do-some-women-get-pregnant.html/feed0The history of botched executionshttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/the-history-of-botched-executi.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/the-history-of-botched-executi.html#commentsWed, 30 Jul 2014 14:19:05 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321537The first use of the electric chair was both an official success and a horrific example of what can happen when the technology of executions doesn't work the way we expect it to.]]>The first use of the electric chair was both an official success and a horrific example of what can happen when the technology of executions doesn't work the way we expect it to.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/30/the-history-of-botched-executi.html/feed0Scientists investigate radio wave "bursts" from spacehttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/scientists-investigate-radio-w.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/scientists-investigate-radio-w.html#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 17:24:49 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321393

Two different radio telescopes have now picked up fast "burst" signals that seem to originate outside our galaxy.

Let's cut to the chase: Is it aliens?

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Two different radio telescopes have now picked up fast "burst" signals that seem to originate outside our galaxy.

Let's cut to the chase: Is it aliens?

Right now, scientists don't have enough examples of the bursts to know what is causing them. It is, however, important to note that there are lots of other potential explanations besides the inevitable first contact hypothesis. That said, they also don't have enough data to rule out the idea of an alien civilization metaphorically pointing their flashlight at our window. So speculate away, friends. It could be anything. All we have right now is enough data to know that the answer is likely to be interesting, even if aliens aren't involved.

As you would imagine, there's been lots of speculation about what's behind these mysterious bursts. Some astronomers think they're caused by blitzars, pulses of energy from a supermassive star collapsing into a black hole. Others think they may be caused by power solar flares coming from stars nearer by.

And Lorimer says he has to mention it: "There's even been discussions in the literature about signatures from extraterrestrial civilizations."

It's just a theoretical paper suggesting the bursts could be generated by intelligent beings intentionally beaming a radio signal directly at Earth.

James Cordes, an astronomer at Cornell University who's also on the hunt for an explanation of these radio bursts, says he'd bet against the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement.

I included that last quote in the excerpt so that:
A) We are reminded to look at this news conservatively, with a cool head and clear eye.
B) We all know who to send mocking letters to if it turns out to be aliens.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/scientists-investigate-radio-w.html/feed0How to solve the problem of plastic in the oceanhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-pl.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-pl.html#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 16:44:23 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321390Ocean scientists Kim Martini and Miriam Goldstein explain, in detail, why the well-meaning ideas of 19-year-old Boyan Slat won't work and show you what you can do now to help stop plastic pollution.]]>Ocean scientists Kim Martini and Miriam Goldstein explain, in detail, why the well-meaning ideas of 19-year-old Boyan Slat won't work and show you what you can do now to help stop plastic pollution.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/how-to-solve-the-problem-of-pl.html/feed0A really fantastic science show on TVhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/a-really-fantastic-science-sho.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/a-really-fantastic-science-sho.html#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 16:36:50 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321383I recently stumbled across Time Scanners, a tech-heavy, pop-science reality show. And, get this you guys, I learned things. I know.]]>I recently stumbled across Time Scanners, a tech-heavy, pop-science reality show. And, get this you guys, I learned things. I know. From TV. It's crazy.

Shows in this genre have a bad reputation for vapid coverage of science, overuse of bad CGI, wild speculation in the name of drama, and (possibly the most obnoxious part) repeating the same facts and even the same sentences over and over and over for an audience that the show assumes is not really paying attention.

Time Scanners — show about the use of Light Detection and Ranging (or LiDAR) technology in archaeology — manages to avoid all of this, for the most part, while also being really interesting. LiDAR is a pretty cool tool that can produce detailed, 3D models of ruins, including features that really aren't easily visible to the naked eye. Time Scanners gets big points in my book for showing how scientists use this technology while simultaneously emphasizing that the technology doesn't just magically work without the interpretation of skilled researchers and while also showing the audience some really cool discoveries that were made without the aid of LiDAR. That last bit is all the more impressive given the fact that the show is covering archaeological sites we've all heard a lot about before. I watched episodes on the ancient city of Petra (of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fame) and the Great Pyramid.

Here's one of the fascinating things I learned about Petra from the show. The whole city was carved out of the rock walls of a canyon — and it was carved from the top down. How do they know that? Because there's actually an unfinished building at Petra where you can see how the workers must have begun the construction of all the city's buildings. I'd never heard of it before, or seen it. (I wasn't able to find a good Creative Commons shot of Petra's Unfinished Tomb, but you can see several fantastic photos of the place on Flickr.) Definitely a TV series worth checking out.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/how-to-cut-a-bagel-into-two-in.html/feed0Succeeding at standardized tests means owning the books with the answers in themhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/succeeding-at-standardized-tes.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/succeeding-at-standardized-tes.html#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 16:03:38 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321372Standardized tests aren't tests of basic knowledge. They're branded products produced by textbook companies, and getting the right answers depends on whether you studied from the right books.]]>Standardized tests aren't tests of basic knowledge. They're branded products produced by textbook companies, and getting the right answers depends on whether you studied from the right books. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/succeeding-at-standardized-tes.html/feed0The existence of the Bahamas begins in the Sahara deserthttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/the-existence-of-the-bahamas-b.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/the-existence-of-the-bahamas-b.html#commentsTue, 29 Jul 2014 15:58:25 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321363

Here's a really fascinating example of the interconnectedness of life and the importance of viewing things as systems, rather than individual events.

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Here's a really fascinating example of the interconnectedness of life and the importance of viewing things as systems, rather than individual events. The Bahamas are, underwater, giant mounds of calcium carbonate, part of the even larger Great Bahama Bank. That Bank, as it turns out, is not the result of local coral growth, but, instead, owes its existence to a chemistry experiment that begins in Africa's Sahara desert.

In short the authors show that when Sahara dust arrives in the Bahamas cyano-bacteria, what we used to call blue-green algae, bloom. As they bloom their photosynthesis removes CO2 from the water making the pH locally rise, alleviating ocean acidification. That blooming rise of ocean pH to a slightly more alkaline state results in what the Bahamanian’s have long called “Ocean Whitings” where the ocean becomes white like milk.

The whiting of the ocean is the result of white calcium carbonate precipitating out of solution as a solid mineral which sinks to the sea floor and accumulates in massive amounts. On the sea bed it looks like tiny pellets. That’s because it’s been reprocessed by marine worms.

I'm about to start a year-long fellowship at Harvard, immersing myself in geeky science awesomeness, and you can follow along with my newsletter The Fellowship of Three Things.

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I'm about to start a year-long fellowship at Harvard, immersing myself in geeky science awesomeness, and you can follow along with my newsletter The Fellowship of Three Things.

The Fellowship is exactly what it sounds like: Three cool things that I've learned, delivered to you each week. There might be photos, scans of documents from archives, interesting short facts, a behind-the-scenes lab tour video, a short interview with an interesting researcher ... all sorts of stuff. My Nieman-Berkman fellowship runs from late August through the end of May, and so will The Fellowship of Three Things. I'm excited for it, and I hope you'll join me.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/29/explore-science-in-a-weekly-ne.html/feed0Heartbreaking photos of uninsured Americans waiting for carehttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/heartbreaking-photos-of-uninsu.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/heartbreaking-photos-of-uninsu.html#commentsMon, 28 Jul 2014 12:49:05 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321086Photographer Lucian Perkins documented the thousands of Virginians who camped out in cars and waited in the rain earlier this month to get access to basic dental, vision, and medical treatment at a traveling clinic.]]>Photographer Lucian Perkins documented the thousands of Virginians who camped out in cars and waited in the rain earlier this month to get access to basic dental, vision, and medical treatment at a traveling clinic.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/heartbreaking-photos-of-uninsu.html/feed0How well does your medication work?http://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/how-well-does-your-medication.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/how-well-does-your-medication.html#commentsMon, 28 Jul 2014 11:44:36 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=321084Two doctors are pushing for the FDA to add information to drug packaging that explains how the medication compares to placebo.]]>Two doctors are pushing for the FDA to add information to drug packaging that explains how the medication compares to placebo.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/28/how-well-does-your-medication.html/feed0The top Ebola doctor in Sierra Leone has contracted Ebolahttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/the-top-ebola-doctor-in-sierra.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/the-top-ebola-doctor-in-sierra.html#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 14:17:44 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=320783Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, a hero who has treated hundreds of people in the recent deadly outbreak, is in a Doctors Without Borders isolation ward after working at a hospital where three nurses had previously died of the virus.]]>Dr. Sheik Umar Khan, a hero who has treated hundreds of people in the recent deadly outbreak, is in a Doctors Without Borders isolation ward after working at a hospital where three nurses had previously died of the virus.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/the-top-ebola-doctor-in-sierra.html/feed0Despite new data, Mars remains a mysteryhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/despite-new-data-mars-remains.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/despite-new-data-mars-remains.html#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 14:07:40 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=320781We have lots of new information about Mars, writes Alexandra Witze at Nature, but scientists are still struggling with what that information means and how all the parts work together.]]>We have lots of new information about Mars, writes Alexandra Witze at Nature, but scientists are still struggling with what that information means and how all the parts work together. ]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/despite-new-data-mars-remains.html/feed0Another execution by experimental drug cocktail goes horribly wronghttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/another-execution-by-experimen.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/another-execution-by-experimen.html#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 13:58:59 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=320778

This is just another case in a long-running issue. The European drug manufacturers that make the key drug that used to be used for lethal injection now refuse to sell it to the US, in protest against death penalty laws. The American companies that used to make the drug stopped making it. That all happened in 2011 and now states that want to keep executing people are turning to proprietary cocktails of drugs that have not been tested (on animals) or approved by public oversight systems and are, in many cases, secret.

The botched execution in Oklahoma last April was done with a cocktail like this, as well. Here's Vox's German Lopez and Max Fisher:

Arizona's case is far from unique. A staggering 7 percent of lethal injections are botched, often resulting in grisly incidents like that on Wednesday afternoon.

Joseph Wood, a convicted murderer, took nearly two hours to die after he was injected with an experimental chemical cocktail that was supposed to kill him quickly and painlessly. More than an hour after the execution started, Wood's lawyers filed for an emergency stay after it became clear it was not going as planned.

]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/another-execution-by-experimen.html/feed0Endangered species condoms say, "Think before you breed."http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/endangered-species-condoms-say.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/endangered-species-condoms-say.html#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 13:39:38 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=320775The Center for Biological Diversity has distributed hundreds of thousands of free condoms in endangered species-themed wrappers, with the message that more humans means more extinctions.]]>The Center for Biological Diversity has distributed hundreds of thousands of free condoms in endangered species-themed wrappers, with the message that more humans means more extinctions.]]>http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/endangered-species-condoms-say.html/feed0The horror and the wonder of mayfly birthhttp://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/the-horror-and-the-wonder-of-m.html
http://boingboing.net/2014/07/24/the-horror-and-the-wonder-of-m.html#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 13:25:39 +0000http://boingboing.net/?p=320773Remember that upper Midwest mayfly apocalypse that Xeni wrote about? Here's how those flies are born. The female dies while laying her eggs.]]>

Remember that upper Midwest mayfly apocalypse that Xeni wrote about? Here's how those flies are born. The female dies while laying her eggs. The babies hatch within seconds.

Mayflies are some of the most ancient insects around; they are well represented in Carboniferous fossils dating >300 million years ago. Fossil mayflies look remarkably like our modern mayflies; some consider them “living fossils.” The oldest fossil of a winged insect is a mayfly.

This dance of death and birth has been going on for a long time; try to focus on the wonder, rather than the gross out. The protein in mayfly bodies may have powered the rise of the reptiles.

The rest of the story, by Sarah Zielinski, covers the wide range of responses in nature to forest fires — from the carnivores who prey on the other animals running for their lives, to the fungi (including morel mushrooms) that depend on fire to reproduce.